


A key to my heart

by Yougaythen



Category: Ballum, EastEnders
Genre: M/M, The soft version of the giving of the key no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:01:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26305279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yougaythen/pseuds/Yougaythen
Summary: Ben has a surprise for Callum, he wants to ask him to move in to the house so they don’t have to be apartOrThe soft version of Ben giving Callum the key to the Mitchell house!
Relationships: Ballum - Relationship
Comments: 3
Kudos: 33





	A key to my heart

After spending their first year together getting to know each other properly, falling in love slowly until the point dates turned into stumbling home hands intertwined together, waking up in each other’s arms where they are both home in each other’s hearts. 

Ben going to meet Callum after work was becoming more and more normal, waiting around outside the building for him to finish, their hands falling together a quick cheek kiss and off they were going home for the night. 

On this day though they were heading straight from work to pick up Lexi, her summer long over weeks ago, the signs of autumn already taking full effect, the sound of the leaves crunching under their feet, their hands swinging in time with their footsteps. “I got you something” Ben says breaking the air between them, his voice coming out somewhat shaky “oh yeah, what’s that then” Callum returns that familiar smile coming across his face “it’s a surprise, I’ll show you later” Ben finishes walking through the gate to the primary school, the sound of children shouting and laughing filling the coldened autumn air. 

It’s when the bell goes and the chatter stops that they unlink hands, respectfully falling against each of their sides waiting for Lexis teacher to open the door scan the playground looking for those familiar parent faces. The door swings open Lexis face looking excitedly out of the door, before she’s dismissed by her teacher, running straight into Ben’s arms who’s now slightly crouched down on the floor, ready to receive her into a cuddle her arms wrapping around his neck where they clasped hold off each other until Ben was lifting her off the ground and up onto his hip, he didn’t need to but sometimes the afterschool cuddles were the best, Callum picking up her bags off the floor, putting her sparkly backpack onto his own back lunch box swinging in his hand. 

Arriving back on the square, talk about her day at school long over, her now wandering between them each having hold of one of her hands, swinging them slightly “I love doing this you know” Callum says looking down to lexi and back up to Ben “what the pickup” Ben questions “no, well yeah but this, being a little family I want this one day, when we are ready” “oh yeah me too a little family of our own” they walk towards the mitchell house, Callum dropping lexis hand “can you stay the night, here” Ben questions, ”Lola wants lexi to stay here and dads away for a couple of days” “alright, let me message Stuart and let him know I won’t be home tonight and I’ll stay” 

They took lexi inside out of the chill that was setting around them, Ben getting her to go put on her pjs so that she didn't get her uniform more dirty than it already was, her putting on the rainbow sparkly ones Callum had brought her the previous Christmas, Ben making the dinner for the evening, Callum cuddled up around his waist while lexi sat and watched some tv, stirring the saucepan occasionally to stop it burning to the bottom, making Callum taste it occasionally before taking it off and plating it up, calling lexi through to the kitchen where they all sat together, quietly eating away the sound of the soft gentle autumn wind blowing through the air picking up leaves and shaking them. Forks scratching the bottom of plates and the low humming of the tv from whatever Lexi was previously watching. 

They finish up with a comfortable silence, Callum washing the dishes while Ben and Lexi make hot chocolates at her request, her sticking marshmallows into the lukewarm chocolate, Ben keeping his and Callums cups away ensuring she wouldn’t get burnt, after she was done they all moved into the living room, the daylight outside long faded into complete darkness, the coziness of the soft lights bringing just enough to the room that everything was visible but not enough to hurt their eyes with the contrast of the upstairs that was in full darkness. 

They put on Lexis favourite film, her not needing to be in bed early because that’s what Friday nights are for, staying up late and sleeping in on Saturdays. 

Lexi laying back against Callums chest, her head falling so effortlessly against him, her legs over Ben’s lap, their hands intertwined beneath her, they sipped lightly on their drinks, half way through lexi complaining that she was tired, Callum bringing his other hand up to support around her body rubbing lightly on her shoulder like he had done for Ben before, the feeling of sleepiness coming over her.

“You know she’s asleep right” Ben speaks up diverting Callums attention from the tv to Ben, his eyes in that sympathetic look that only showed this particular what when he knew Callum would be carrying a sleepy lexi up the stairs at any moment, “is she? are you sure?” he questions voice brought down to just over a whisper “yeah of course I’m sure she is, do you want to put her into bed or do you want me to carry her” “if you carry her you’ll almost definitely wake her and you know that, if I take her up to bed can you tell me what the surprise is? the one you told me about earlier” Callum asks “oh so you want to know, I thought you had forgotten” he returns watching Callum shuffle forward enough to stand up with the sleeping girl in his arms, her head still against his chest, an arm supporting her back and her legs dangling over the other arm. Ben placing a kiss to her head, a ‘see you in the morning, love you baby’ and off Callum went up the stairs. 

Upon returning back he found Ben looking through the drawer of the cabinet “she’s all in bed” he said, watching over as Ben turned around, “what are you doing” Callum questions, Ben stood a few paces away with a box resembling that of a wedding ring box, it sat firmly in the palm of his hand, the silence around them almost suffocating to breathe in. 

“oh” he realises “I wasn’t planning you to be down so soon, I wanted to ask you something” and the air around them got thicker, if it was even possible, “well I don’t want to spend any more time away from you and I can’t imagine my future without you now that I have you, back here where you belong. and the only way I can make that happen” he stops walking over to Callum, his empty hand coming up to rest against Callums chest “I’ve never enjoyed anything more than a hug from you, the way your fingers run through my hair, the natural rise and fall of you while you sleep, the tiny kisses, this where it’s just us together-” he breaks off, eyes darting all over Callum's face “-so I wanted to ask you to move in, here, with me. We can start properly saving then for our own house on the square, a place to call our home, us” he breaks off, taking Callums hand into his own where he pulls it to take the box lid, pulling it up gently to reveal the key inside. “I wanted you to have a key to here, and a key to me. No more pretending because we are a unit now, and I want you to know that through everything all I want is you” Ben finished, Callum taking his hand off the box still in Ben's hand wrapping his arms around him. “You know I fell for you that first moment our hands touched right?” He questions “My hand was made to fit into yours, and you know that they were and I’m never going anywhere away from you again, I can’t do it, I need you” he continued against Ben’s neck pulling back slightly and allowing their lips to meet in a kiss. 

They stayed there a while, just the two of them and the soft silence that filled the room around them. In the house that was going to be theirs for a while, theirs where Lexi could stay, they could do whatever they wanted there until they had enough to move into a place of their own. 

After a while both deciding to go to bed, falling into the world of dreams tangled in each other’s arms, hands pressed against his chest where they belonged, together. 

Because Ben didn’t just give Callum a key to a house, he gave him a key and a promise into his heart, into him and who he really was, his past and his future, their future.

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted this moment to be as soft and loving as possible, obviously I’ve not seen the ee version so who knows what it will be like but this was just my interpretation of the ‘Ben gives Callum a key to the house’ 
> 
> As always kudos are appreciated


End file.
